Pasta with Smoked Salmon

March 6, 2001

We've just returned from London where we visited our elder son Ben who is currently living in Pimlico doing his big OE. He works in a bar in Soho called the Midas Touch.

He helps the chef with the lunches and part of his job has been visiting one of the nearby markets to get in provisions for the day. It has certainly made him a bit more aware of produce quality. One day I stopped at a little neighbourhood store to buy some fruit. He picked it over and quickly ushered me out the door. At the next stop everything looked much fresher, was more attractively displayed and met his approval.

I was pleased he had become so discerning. In the old days he would have been nagging at me to get on with the buying and less of the picking over - "Just grab any old one."

I figure a third of my shopping time is spent inspecting the produce, reading the labels, sorting through the meat cabinet for the leanest cuts, scrutinising the fish.

When the sons were reluctant followers, I tried to point out what it was I was looking for. With one now shopping as part of his job and the other shopping to keep within a student budget, I think they may have learned the value of taking a good look at the produce before parting with The Money.

Most of the chefs I've spoken to over the years are firm believers in using high quality seasonal produce and that is the best way to go when planning menus for home. Don't drool over the cookbooks and decide to serve a Peperonata if peppers are out of season and cost the earth. Chances are their flavour won't be the best, either. If you're planning a dinner party, check out your local suppliers first to see just what is in plentiful supply, at its peak and reasonably priced. Then go check the cookbooks.

Often I just assemble a few ingredients on the bench and use them for inspiration. These are my "out of my head" recipes. Such was the case the other night. I started with...

1 bag of button mushrooms
1 200g packet of hot-smoked salmon
1 red pepper Italian plum tomatoes

I looked in the pantry and found a jar of creamy herb and mushroom pasta sauce and that suggested a pasta dish so I grabbed a bag of pasta spirals and I was cooking.

I set the pasta pot on the stove to heat up the water and meanwhile got on with quartering about 100g of mushrooms and deseeding and slicing the red pepper, throwing them in a microwave-proof saucepan and cooking them on high for three minutes. I drained off the excess liquid.

I then pin-boned and broke up the smoked salmon into small chunks and added that to the saucepan with the pasta sauce and gave it a good stir. Once the pasta had been cooking according to directions for about five minutes, I put the sauce in the microwave to heat till it was bubbling - about five minutes on high. During the last minute I added four tomatoes, which I had cored and cut into rough chunks. A handful of chopped fresh basil finished the sauce. The pasta was ready to drain and place in the large pasta bowl, on went the sauce, a few twists of black pepper and voila, a delicious meal made in less than 20 minutes.

Adding the tomatoes in the last minute of cooking means they get heated through but don't actually cook very much, so they still have a fresh flavour.

The mushrooms were on special at the market and we are enjoying vine ripened tomatoes at the moment. Peppers are a reasonable price. There's usually a couple of jars of pasta sauce and assorted Italian pasta in the pantry.